Tampa Film Fan

gasparilla film festival-saturday (part two)

I remembered this weekend that I never posted part two of my write up of the Gasparilla Film Festival. There goes my Super-Duper Blogger of the Year Award, I suppose. (Whiny defense: “I’ve been sick!” *cough*) Here’s part two, largely copied from my GFF write up over at CrazedFanBoy.com (which I’m not supposed to do, but hopefully the Crazed Fan Boy himself won’t see this. Also, see whiny defense listed above.)

Here’s part one, in case you missed it.

My day of surprises continued…

Blood Feast special screening – I’m so glad that I had never seen this movie before. How wonderful is it that the first time I saw Blood Feast was on the big screen, at the 45th anniversary screening at the Gasparilla Film Festival, with Lewis and Friedman in attendance for a Q and A? Pretty damn wonderful. Surprise!

Oh, just in case you were wondering, no one needed the “nurse” who was on standby, passing out Blood Feast barf bags. No one needed medical attention due to the grossness of the movie, I mean…there were a lot of guys who needed to talk to her, because c’mon, Krista Grotte is wearing a naughty nurse costume!…but that’s different. I never got close enough to her to take a decent picture. Chatted her up in the bathroom later, however….Grotte’s really nice and down-to-earth. (Naughty and nice? No wonder her MySpace page gets so much darn traffic.)

Do I think Blood Feast is one of the best films ever made? Of course not. Do I have a burning desire to watch it on a regular basis? Not really. But I can appreciate and celebrate Blood Feast in all its campy, ridiculous, bloody glory as the important, historic, cult classic landmark that it is. Kudos to the Gasparilla Film Festival for having the guts (attempted pun intended) to include this movie in the fest. Thanks also go to Andy Lalino, the other Andy whose last name I don’t know, Steve Persall from the St. Pete Times and everyone else involved in making this happen.

Q and A with Herschell Gordon Lewis and David Friedman — “You understood the whole thing is a big gag!” If that opening line from Lewis didn’t endear him to the audience, then his 2001 Maniacs (I think that’s the one) theme song sing-a-long sure did. Yee-haw! I’ll try to condense six pages of notes:

“We wanted to make a film that the studios weren’t making.” — Friedman, who added that Blood Feast was edited by Gary Sinise’s father

“Trepidations? If we had any trepidations, we wouldn’t have made this movie.” — Lewis, responding to host Steve Persall’s question about possible trepidations about movie theater restrictions because of the movie’s gore

“There were two reactions to the movie. Oh my God! and OH MY GOD!!!!” — Friedman

“It’s like a Walt Whitman poem…not good, but the first of its kind.” — Friedman, quoting Lewis

“It was cold in Chicago.” — Lewis, on why they filmed in Florida

“It’s in the hands of God.” — Lewis, on whether or not there will be a Blood Feast 3

“We can’t call them actors. We’ll call them cast.” — Lewis

Blood Feast tidbits:
**Persall’s father, a drive-in movie theater owner, planted a man who staged a fake heart attack at the movie’s premiere; the movie was sold out for two straight weeks
**It premiered at the Bellair Drive-In in Peoria, Illinois
**The movie was called Flesh Feast to get around the rule of no movies being allowed to have “blood” in the title
**The Tampa Tribune had a front page article about the movie that stated that children had to have a note from their parents to see it

The Q and A session ended with Persall reading Friedman and Lewis some of the negative reviews Blood Feast has received over the years. Lewis stood up, walked over to Persall, said “Critics have been killing us for years” and something along the lines of “It’s time to get revenge.” He pulled out a knife and slit Persall’s throat!

…At lunch earlier that day, I sat next to a special-effects guy who hinted that “something bloody” was going to happen at the Q and A, so I wasn’t surprised by the “knifing”…

Persall was squirming and kicking and frantically pumping his right arm…WHOOSH! Blood splattered 10 feet in the air, right on the blank movie screen. (Surprise!) The audience cheered and clapped. Persall — not seeing the screen — stood up, sheepishly apologized to the audience for the special effects gag not working, then turned around, saw the blood-spattered screen and said “Whoa!” The audience cheered and clapped even harder. It would have been memorable no matter how it panned out, but it seemed fitting somehow that the fake blood gag didn’t work as planned but turned out being even better.

The 100 Tears screening – Blood Feast started the explicit gore carnival. 100 Tears has continued the tradition, with blood, guts, more blood, a marathon-ready midget and a killer clown named Gurdy. I’ve seen 100 Tears twice now, both times at Channelside Cinemas, both screenings at around 11 p.m. There are few things as creepy as having to walk late at night by myself into the dark, eerie parking garage after having just seen 100 Tears. (Just because Gurdy didn’t kill anyone in a parking garage in the movie doesn’t mean that he’s not waiting to kill ME in the parking garage, thank you very much. Plus, have you seen the opening sequence of Death Wish 4? But that’s a whole other post.)

I had planned to attend the screening of Daydreamer at noon on Sunday, but all the excitement of Saturday apparently tired me out, because I overslept on Sunday and didn’t make it to the film fest at all.

And that, film fans, concludes my write up of the 2008 Gasparilla Film Festival. Was the festival perfect? Nope. Was it a success? You betcha. The Gasparilla Film Festival is here to stay and I, for one, am glad.

gasparilla film festival–saturday (part one)

Saturday at the Gasparilla Film Festival was a day of surprises.

My first Saturday surprise didn’t occur at the festival, but happened because of the festival. (So it’s appropriate to include it here.) Some of the CrazedFanBoy.com writers and readers were having lunch (a.k.a. Fanboy Summit) together at 1 p.m. that day. Of course, I left the house at about 12:40 p.m., planning to arrive fashionably late as usual. On my way there, I checked my voice mail and learned that lunch plans had shifted: new restaurant, new people, new time (earlier, wouldn’t you know it). Surprise. After almost an hour of changing directions, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, getting slightly lost, hunting for a parking space and coming thisclose to being wiped out by a trolley in Ybor City, I arrived, grumpy and hungry, at the Fanboy Summit.

Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast, The Wizard of Gore, The Gruesome Twosome) and David F. Friedman (Blood Feast, Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS) were there. The CrazedFanBoy writers were too, yeah, yeah…Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman were there. Surprise!

I had lunch with Herschell Gordon “Godfather of Gore” Lewis and David F. “The Mighty Monarch of Exploitation” Friedman!! Technically, I only had a glass of water because everyone else had already eaten and I sat at the opposite end — from them — of a very long table, but I talked with them, shook their hands, got them to sign my festival program and had my picture taken with them. That counts, people.

I was amazed by their generosity and kindness. You know they’ve heard the same questions a thousand times, smiled gamely during a thousand photo ops and endured a thousand lunches with thousands of fans fighting for their attention; yet somehow Lewis and Friedman managed to make each of us feel special and important. Friedman even walked down to my end of the table to chat one-on-one with several people who wouldn’t have had a chance to talk directly with him otherwise.

During our photo op session, Lewis joked that posing with me was more fun than posing with anyone else (because I was the only woman…take that, fanboys!).

After leaving Ybor City, I headed over to Channelside. Since I had some time to kill before the first Gasparilla Film Festival screening – and because I was about to collapse from hunger – my destination was Bennigan’s, where I enjoyed a leisurely long lunch with filmmaker Chris Woods. In addition to my quizzing him about the Joe Redner documentary he’s just made with directory Shelby McIntyre, we talked about movies, strip clubs (you can’t talk about Redner without talking about strip clubs), and pro wrestling. When Woods asked me if I was familiar with pro wrestling, I startled both of us by answering “Yeah, but from many years ago, way back when, when Sting still had short, spiked, blond hair.” Surprise!

Then it was off to the Women’s Power Hour. The festival gave Women’s History Month some R-E-S-P-E-C-T by screening a group of short films “that highlight strength and leadership in women.” First up was local filmmaker Renee Warmack’s terrific documentary about local trailblazing women Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay, which I didn’t think I’d thoroughly enjoy, since I had already seen it. Surprise! I liked it just as much as I did the first time, plus I picked up new things I had missed the first time around.

Other shorts screened during the Women’s Power Hour were Loose Ends, a comedy/drama about a newly single woman that started off strong and funny but went downhill after that; A Driving Lesson, an incredibly memorable film about a quiet afternoon drive gone wrong; and In Between, a series of vignettes about a couple’s mid-life crisis that seemed disconnected and flat despite the clever segways.

Local publishing company JimSam, Inc. sponsored the Women’s Power Hour, so I had a chance to chat with JimSam president Marcia Freespirit for a little while. I checked out the books on their display tables, got a gift bag full o’ goodies, popped by their reception ever so briefly – and somewhere in all of this I talked to filmmaker and fellow blogger Clark Brooks for a minute – and then it was time to rush off to the next movie.

I caught 14 of the 16 Campus MovieFest short films, several of which I had seen before at the CMF Florida Finale last year. (Surprise!) The five-minute student films ranged from comedy/action (Maximum Overkill, University of Georgia; The Lost Toy, Sonoma State University) to drama (Departure, Northeastern University; Sealed, Emerson College) to special effects showcase (Slow Motion Sickness, Jacksonville University; Einstein, UC Berkeley) to horror (Dead End, University of Tampa) to hilarious animated stick figures (Drinking Guy, Tufts University) to subtitled biopic (Fanya Kaplan, Georgia State University) to inventive comedy (Discovering English, Emory University; Me and My Bot, Georgia State University; The Importance of Playing Yardball, University of Central Florida; The Kite Club, Boston University) to what-the-heck-was-that-supposed-to-be? (Cake Master, Georgia State University) and everything in between.

The day’s surprises weren’t quite over just yet…

gasparilla film festival — friday

I didn’t make it to the Gasparilla Film Festival on Thursday, but made up for it with a full day on Friday. Friday was the day of “liked it, didn’t love it.”

That began with the festival’s schedule. The festival’s program guide gave descriptions of all the films and listed the screening date/time for all of the feature-length films at the end of each description. The program guide didn’t give a day-by-day schedule, which I missed dearly. I need the easy-to-read, TV Guide-style grid of what’s playing when. I looked at the festival’s online schedule to map out what I wanted to see each day. I didn’t “drill down” and click on each movie title, however, so I had no idea that each feature-length film would be preceded by a short film or two. I’d just assumed that the shorts would be shown during the time slots marked Shorts Section I and Shorts Section II. (You know what they say about assuming.)

I’d received several emails from local filmmakers listing the date/time their short films were scheduled. Thank goodness for that, because that’s how I found out about how the short films were going to be shown. When I arrived at the theater, the first thing I did was take a look at a festival volunteer’s detailed daily schedule page so I could see which short film was scheduled to proceed which feature-length film. I managed to dart back-and-forth between theaters to catch most of the shorts and features that I’d wanted to see, although I had to miss out on some filmmaker Q and A sessions to do so.

While I like the festival’s attempt to expose moviegoers to short (often local) films by running them before each feature-length film, I didn’t love the execution of that attempt. I hope that next year, the GFF will list the shorts on the overview page of the online schedule and include the screening date/time in the program guide.

I saw the local short Good Samaritan, which screened before Dream Havana. Good Samaritan paired Rachael Lee and Robert Elfstrom, two very strong local actors, in a drama/thriller about justice and revenge. Liked it, didn’t love it.

Then I hopped over to a different theater to see American Fork, a comedy/drama about an overweight, sad-sack, nice-guy loser with the usual quirky friends, family and co-workers. American Fork combines the job/home/job monotony of Bubble, the retail world quirkiness of The Good Girl and the socially-awkward misfits of Eagle vs. Shark without adding enough oomph of its own to make it really stand out. (Although American Fork won the festival’s grand jury prize, so what the heck do I know? [info via Steve Persall’s blog] )

Local short film There’s Always Hope was next. I missed the first minute or two — which is more important than it sounds, since the entire movie was only 13 minutes long — so to my “liked it, didn’t love it” I’ll add the caveat that I need to see the movie again before saying anything more.

The documentary Big Rig was one of the films on my GFF Must-See List. It takes a look at truck drivers across the country and gives the viewer a glimpse into truckers’ lives, experiences and opinions. Big Rig was beautiful and fascinating, but a little long and in need of some “framework” text (or narration) at either the beginning or end in order to provide some information and put the film in context. I had a lot of questions after watching the movie, but had to skip out on the filmmaker Q and A to catch my next film.

Next up were two exceptions to the “liked it, didn’t love it” vote: The Job and the preview of Strip Club King:The Story of Joe Redner. I LOVED those. The Job is a very short (4 minutes, I think) hilarious take on the struggle to find employment. To say any more would spoil the fun of this clever, funny film.

I figured that Strip Club King would be interesting — how could it not be, with controversial, often-hated, outspoken strip club owner/political activist Joe Redner as the subject — but I had no idea it would be fascinating. Local filmmakers Shelby McIntyre (director) and Chris Woods (producer, editor) had full access to Redner, his family and decades’ worth of incredible footage. I thoroughly enjoyed the 14-minute preview and am looking forward to seeing the completed documentary.

Last film of the night was Judy Toll:The Funniest Woman You’ve Never Heard Of. Toll reminds me so much of Gilda Radner: the zaniness, the physical comedy, the multiple characters on stage, the never-ending sense of humor…and unfortunately, the ultimately unsuccessful battle with cancer. Toll’s brother and mother made this film, which was brave not only because of the obvious pain of their not having Judy in their lives anymore, but also because a lot of Toll’s humor was about very personal subjects, especially her sex life.

Toll co-wrote the film Casual Sex, wrote for Sex and the City, toured the nation performing in clubs big and small, and was devastatingly hilarious as Andrea Dice Clay, the female version — and very clever parody — of comedian Andrew Dice Clay. For some reason, however, Toll never became a national success, so her brother made this documentary to ensure that her talent would not be forgotten. Judy Toll’s mother attended the screening. It was so late that no one stuck around for the Q and A session with Mrs. Toll, so I made sure to thank her for coming and for making the film. She asked me if I had any questions, but I didn’t. (I wish now I had come up with something to ask her.)

I stopped by the GFF party long enough to stalk actor Shane West into a photo op, then I headed over to another party. I had a chance to chat with Mike Compton (Good Samaritan), Rachael Lee (Good Samaritan), Chris Woods (Strip Club King) and Rod Grant (Gunn Highway) for a while. I’ve met Grant before, but had never really had a chance to talk to him much. After seeing him as the creepy bad guy in Gunn Highway and the creepy, crooked cop in 100 Tears, it was a relief to finally get to know Grant as the NON-creepy, regular, nice guy that he is.

My mind wasn’t ready to give up on GFF yet, though, because I dreamed about the festival that night. And then overslept the next day…

gasparilla film festival — wednesday

The Gasparilla Film Festival owes me several hours of sleep. I haven’t stayed up so late so many nights in one week since … well, never. Fueled by Channelside Cinemas’ large diet Dr. Peppers, I bounced back and forth from theater to theater, trying to catch as many movies and meet as many filmmakers as I could.

I went to the Gasparilla Film Festival’s opening night party Wednesday night hoping to find a nice, quiet corner to hide in until the movie started. I had so much fun, however, that I ended up going to the post-screening party too, even though I usually skip those kinds of things. The Tampa Theatre was packed and everyone was eager to see the opening night film Kabluey.

The first familiar face I saw that night was networking expert Eric Sturm, who knows almost everyone in the Bay area and yet amazingly manages to remember everyone’s name…I hung out with local filmmaker Daniel Brienza for a little while and talked with him about his upcoming Weekend Film School…I saw Guzzo Brother #2, who somehow managed not to burst out laughing when I tripped over a lighting stand as I walked past him. (At last year’s Ybor Festival of the Moving Image, I stepped on a tablecloth as I was talking to Guzzo Brother #2 and almost dumped the table’s contents on the floor. I have decided that for my own safety and the safety of those around me, the next time I see Guzzo Brother #2 at a film fest I will just wave hello at him from across the room.)…

…Up-and-coming actor Rachael Lee (The Good Samaritan, Gunn Highway) was there. She’s 16, gorgeous and talented, but it’s impossible to hate her guts because she is incredibly sweet, nice, polite and generous. (She’s more mature and polished at 16 than some people in their 30s that I know.) Her mom Allison was there too, glowing with pride about seeing Rachael up on the big screen…Steve Persall from the St. Pete Times and his wife Diane (in a gorgeous bright red coat) were there…I saw Bob Ross, looking dapper with his cane that he’s using while recovering from knee surgery…local author Skip Allen (Out of the Ashes) was there, making instant friends out of strangers as only Skip can…of course I spoke briefly with festival executive director John Rosser and president Eric Odum, both of whom looked proud, relieved, exhausted and excited all at the same time, now that after all their hard work, the festival was finally here…I had a chance to say hello to Tampa Bay film commission manager Lindsey Norris – someone else gorgeous but impossible to hate because she’s so nice and amazing — who teasingly threatened me about giving the festival a good write up (and who’s gonna teasingly kick me in the shins the next time we see each other because of this post!).

Kabluey was wonderful…whimsical, moving and hilarious. After the movie, writer/director/actor Scott Prendergast and producer — and Tampa native — Jeff Balis took the stage for a brief Q and A. On the way to the festival’s after party at Spain, I had a chance to talk to Prendergast for a few minutes and tell him how much I enjoyed his film. He was nice, down-to-earth and thrilled at the audience’s positive reaction. He said it was a lot of fun to watch Kabluey in a theater full of people who were enjoying it. (He also gave me his email address so I could ask him additional questions!)

Spain was wall-to-wall people; navigating to my usual corner took longer than usual. Throughout the evening, I met filmmaker and Gasparilla Film Festival board member Rob Sterret, Bay News Nine’s On The Town reporter Virginia Johnson and several GFF volunteers. Right before I left the party, I screwed up the courage to talk to Jeff Balis. As I made a fool of myself gushing about how much I liked Kabluey, I think I actually uttered the phrase “local boy makes good” when explaining why it’s so great to see someone from Tampa become a success in the film industry.

On the way home, I texted a friend to tell him what he had missed that night. (Note to any members of law enforcement who might be reading this: I would never text and drive at the same time.) I was still wound up when I got home, so I made The Husband listen to my stories and look at my pictures even though he was half-asleep. Finally I had it out of my system and was able to get some sleep. (Little did I know how much I’d need it for the rest of the festival.)

friday was a good day for tampa bay

“Well, you’re quite the busy bee.”

This is The Husband’s standard response whenever I give him long, detailed descriptions of where I’m going and things I’m doing on any given day. Technically, it’s code for “I’m listening and being supportive because I love you, even though you’re boring me to death” and is a much better line than my standard comment to him of “Is your story very long?”

This busy bee buzzed around to three film-related events this past Friday: A press conference at Eckerd College about the movie Misconceptions that’s currently being filmed in Pinellas County; the Tampa Bay Film Industry and Actors Network Meetup; and the Tampa Film Review. Here are a few things I discovered over the course of the day:

• Academy Award and Emmy-nominated director Ron Satlof (The A-Team, Diagnosis Murder) teaches filmmaking intro classes at Eckerd College. Eckerd College continues to support film in all sorts of ways: the International Cinema Series, the Environmental Film Festival, the film studies program, and now this. Wow.
• I’m a terrible photographer. (You’ll see for yourself when I download my photos.)
• My 10th grade math teacher was right: There’s no escaping math in life, no matter who you are or where you go. The Meetup group watched an instructional DVD on lighting techniques for interviews, which was interesting and informative (and not as tedious as it sounds here). When the narrator mentioned the “inverse square law” that determines light reflection, however, I suddenly developed sweaty palms and a strong craving for a sharpened No. 2 pencil.
• A Major Movie Star has agreed to be the guest of the upcoming Sunscreen Film Festival! Festival co-director Tony Armer “leaked” the news at the Tampa Film Review, but since nothing has been officially released to the media yet, I promised Armer and fellow co-director Derek Miner that I wouldn’t name names here. Keeping this secret is killing me….
• Film fest director, filmmaker and extreme multi-tasker David Audet surfaced from under the mountain of DVDs he’s screening for the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image to present the Bud Lee Cinematography Award at the Tampa Film Review. I was able to chat with him long enough to find out that (1) The YFMI is going to be jam-packed — as always — with an eclectic, unusual assortment of films, art and performance; (2) PIX Fest, the Pinellas County film festival originally scheduled to debut this summer, is still going to occur, but probably in a very different way than previously imagined ; and (3) The literary festival Deep Carnivale:A Celebration of Words, fresh from its successful debut last September, will be bigger and better come September 20. This year’s festival will have more of everything: more activities, more venues, more authors…and hopefully more attendees, more attention, more fun.
• Speaking of book news, I met JimSam, Inc. publishing pro Marcia Freespirit (a busy bee herself) Friday night. Her company has some intriguing book/film collaborations planned for 2008.
• In the spring, the Tampa Theatre is going to launch an outdoor classic film screening series at various parks in the Tampa Bay area. Locally-produced short films will be part of this series as well, playing just prior to the main movie at each screening.
• The Sunscreen Film Festival has finalized the judging panel for short films: Filmmaker and UT film professor Tom Garrett…and me. I’m not sure how I snuck in there, but I’m sure I proved my professionalism by jumping up and down with joy when co-director Derek Miner asked me. (Surprisingly, he didn’t rescind his offer.) Here’s an interesting side note: Sunscreen Film Festival co-director Tony Armer graduated from Eckerd College, which brings us full circle.

I’ll post my photos as soon as possible. Hopefully, The Husband’s stories are all short today.

(cross-posted on www.sticksoffire.com)

the sunscreen film festival this weekend

The Sunscreen Film Festival is The Little Festival That Could.  Despite being practically ignored by the local media and having far less financial support than some other area film fests (based on the number of sponsors listed in the program and on the website), the SFF put on an amazing show this past weekend.

PRO:  A wonderful selection of films.  More on that in a minute.

CON:  Scheduling the festival for Easter weekend might have lowered attendance somewhat.  Although, with all the other film festivals offered this time of year, I imagine that scheduling will always be a challenge.

PRO:  Location, location, location.  The Renaissance Vinoy Resort is a great location for a film festival.  SFF attendees had the run of small section of the hotel: a private entrance with valet parking; a long corridor that festival organizers wisely lined with displays, posters, and a food/drink vendor; two large screening rooms with a small room in between to act as a sound buffer; and a small sitting area. 

There was plenty of room to mingle and hang out between screenings.  The set-up had an “exclusive” feel; you knew weren’t going to run into a group of teenyboppers rushing to see the latest Eddie Murphy film. The chairs were comfortable and I had more leg room than I usually do in a movie theater.  Maybe next year the Vinoy will give SFF attendees a break on the parking garage charge, hmm?

CON:  Ok, I’m out of cons.  Seriously.

PROS:  A chance to meet several of the filmmakers.  A panel discussion on film distribution and financing.  Very few technical mishaps or delayed screenings.  And again, a wonderful selection of films.  I saw all of the short films and 4 1/2 of the feature-length films.  I loved about a third, liked a third, and disliked a third.  (Reviews to be posted separately.)

While I wish the Sunscreen Film Festival continued growth and success, I hope it retains its relatively small size and quiet charm.  There’s something to be said for a weekend of high-quality programming and filmmaker appearances in a luxurious setting. 

campus moviefest’s grand florida finale last week

I’m a homebody and proud of it.  With my comfortable marriage, comfortable sofa and big TV, I’m content to stay at home and watch movies and read.  But sometimes there are events worth leaving the house for.  Campus MovieFest’s Florida Grand Finale was one such event.  Last Thursday I drove to Orlando to watch the top 16 short films created by students at Rollins College, University of Tampa, University of Central Florida and Jacksonville University.  The audience was high energy and the films were incredible.  These are the top 16 Florida films:

• A Tough Call (UCF) — A funny look at a producer listening to pitches of movie ideas.  Had some clever moments, but wasn’t outstanding.
• The Daisy Effect (Jax U) — The story of a break-up, told from the guy’s point of view.  Earns points for some interesting camera angles and for using no dialogue, but loses those points and then some for being slow-moving and somewhat boring.
• The Paperboy (Rollins) — A hilarious film about an overly-dedicated guy delivering papers around town on his bike, whether residents want a paper or not.  One of the best films of the night.
• Guitars and Caffeine (UT) — A day in the life of a loser guitar player/songwriter.  Very funny and well done.  (I dare you not to laugh at songs like I’m trapped on the toilet bowl….wishing I had a paper roll…so I could wipe my…)  Another of my favorite films of the night.
• Insane Delict (UCF) — A thriller/drama about the tragic effects of a cop’s flashback nightmare.  Great storytelling.
• Video Games (Rollins) — This “Public Service Announcement” about the evils of videogames (a.k.a. online smack) was well written and well executed.  And absolutely hilarious.  One of my favorite films of the night.
• Waiting for Huffman (Rollins) – In this clever parody of Waiting for Guffman, a college drama group making their first film is anxiously expecting the arrival of VIP Felicity Huffman.
• Three Dead Mimes (UCF) — Question: How does one mime commit murder?  Answer:  All sorts of ways.  There’s the mime “dropping” of a heavy piano, the “stabbing” with a mimed weapon and so on.  This is one of the most creative stories I’ve ever seen.  The mime interrogation scene is brilliant.  Another of my faves of the evening.
• Slow Motion Sickness (Jax U) — How can I describe this film?  I think you’ll have to go to the website and watch it yourself.  This was one of the audience faves of the night, but I didn’t like it as much as everyone else seemed to.
• Dead End (UT) — This film is proof that a five-minute horror film can be suspenseful, nail-biting and riveting as hell.  Dead End was far better than a lot of the dreck that Hollywood churns out.  One of the best films of the night.
• The Sidewalk Revolution (UCF) — Remember how Forrest Gump had fans jogging behind him when he was running cross-country?  Change Forrest Gump into a college student, switch jogging to stripping down to one’s underwear, and voila!  You’ve got The Sidewalk Revolution.
• The Deli (UCF) — Three college students try a new deli and learn about some very unusual special ingredients.  Bet they’ll never order the homicidal hash browns again!
• The Snake and the Rat (Rollins) –  A documentary about the destruction and damage caused to mobile homes by a tornado in north Florida.  Poignant and moving.  However, I would suggest larger, easier-to-read text for the statistical facts shown on the screen and a stronger call-to-action at the end.
• I Am Tom Younghans (Rollins — I think) — This very funny film is the story of a college student in Florida who thinks he is the famous 70s hockey star Tom Younghans from Minnesota.
• The Importance of Playing Yardball (UCF) — Yardball seems to be just a silly made-up game created by the main character’s younger sister, until it becomes the only way he can force Death into giving him a second chance at life.  Very, very funny.  One of my favorite films of the night.

The Campus MovieFest hosts gave out several awards throughout the night, including:

• Golden Tripod Award for Best Special Effects — Slow Motion Sickness (Jax U)
• Golden Tripod Award for Best Costume — Three Dead Mimes (UCF)
• Audience Choice Award (awarded by each university from the larger pool of entries): A Halloween Story (UT); Video Games (Rollins); Insane Delict (UCF); Slow Motion Sickness (Jax U)
• Golden Tripod Award for Best Concept — The Importance of Playing Yardball (UCF)
• Golden Tripod Award for Funniest Moment — The Deli (UCF)
• Golden Tripod Award for Best Soundtrack — Guitars and Caffeine (UT)
• TCM (Turner Classic Movies) Classic Short Film Award — Waiting for Huffman (Rollins)
• TBS Very Funny Award — The Deli (UCF)
• Campus MovieFest Best Picture of Florida Award — Slow Motion Sickness (Jax U)

At the end of the evening, the audience voted for Audience Favorite by using their cell phones.  It worked out for the best that my cell phone couldn’t get a signal in Orlando, because I was stumped on which film to vote for.  (It was between Three Dead Mimes, Dead End, Guitars and Caffeine, and Video Games.  And maybe the yardball one.)

The winner of the Audience Favorite Award was Slow Motion Sickness from Jacksonville University.

I can’t wait to see what Florida students come up with this year.  View the Florida-created films and more at http://www.campusmoviefest.com/.

local documentary ten at the top in tampa bay is top-notch

After months of anticipation, I finally had a chance to see the local documentary Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay last night.  It was worth the wait.  Tampa native Renee Warmack noticed that the Tampa Bay area has ten women currently heading governmental institutions:

• Pat Bean, County Administrator, Hillsborough County
• MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent, School District of Hillsborough County
• Pat Frank, Clerk of the Circuit Court, 13th Judicial Circuit
• Nancy Fryrear, Postmaster, Tampa — United States Postal Service
• Julianne Holt, Public Defender, 13th Judicial Circuit
• Pam Iorio, Mayor, City of Tampa
• Dr. Luanne Panacek, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Board of Hillsborough County
• Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson, President, Hillsborough Community College
• Dr. Judy Genshaft, President, University of South Florida
• Colonel Margaret Woodward, Commander, MacDill Air Force Base

Warmack did more than merely notice; she decided to become a documentary filmmaker, to interview these remarkable women, to embody the spirit of the Ophelia Project, to encourage children to dream big and to inspire everyone, especially women.  Warmack was able to interview eight of the ten women (Dr. Genshaft and Col. Woodward weren’t available) and get them to open up about their education, childhoods, dreams, goals, challenges and mentors.   Dr. Stephenson spoke about her original goal of becoming a doctor, the career challenges she has faced as an African-American woman and the advice her mother gave her (”read everything”).  Ms. Frank quoted her father’s advice (”go to college, take care of your teeth and buy expensive shoes”) and talked about the hideous bow-tie fashions that career women adopted in the 80s to try to fit into the male suit-and-tie world.  All of the women shared funny, touching, poignant stories from their own lives.

I found Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay not only inspirational, but honest.  The interviewees were very open in discussing the ups and downs of their careers: the prejudice and sexism, and the mentoring, encouragement and support. I was glad to see the women identified almost every time they were on screen, which kept the viewer from getting confused about who was speaking.  Also, I enjoyed the photos of the women as children, teenagers and young women at the beginning of their careers.  However, I wish that Warmack had mentioned Dr. Genshaft and Col. Woodward more than just the one time at the very beginning of the film.  Very brief bios and a mention that those two were unavailable for interviews would have filled in the very small gap (for me, anyway) of featuring only eight women in a film called Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay.

Before filming, Warmack made a commitment not to sell DVDs of her film.  She said last night that she plans to honor this promise, but is sharing her film with schools and other organizations since her motto is “go forth and mentor.”  I hope others discover this remarkable and inspirational mentoring tool that Warmack has given the Bay area.

Visit www.tenatthetop.com for more info or to view a trailer of this film.  Ten and the Top in Tampa Bay will make its broadcast premiere at 4 p.m. on March 25 on WEDU.  The film will also screen at the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image on April 22.

(cross-posted at www.sticksoffire.com)

film news:local entry to fox’s on the lot, local film ghosts of ybor, horror and hotties film festival

• According to SticksOfFire.com, a St. Pete filmmaker has submitted his film to FOX’s new reality series On The Lot.  Click here to read about it.
• Guzzo Brothers #1 and #2 have announced that their new film The Ghosts of Ybor:The End is Blossoming has been accepted to the following film festivals:
  1. Ybor Festival of the Moving Image in Tampa
  2. Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Pete
  3. Garden State Film Festival in NJ
  4. Barebones Film Festival in Oklahoma
• The St. Pete Times reports that last weekend’s inaugural Horror and Hotties Film Festival was a success.

gasparilla film fest fun

Saturday I had a blast at the Gasparilla Film Festival.  I saw an amazing movie called Purgatory House, saw some hilarious shorts from the Campus Movie Fest contest, watched a filthy, funny short film called Bottom Feeder, met Bottom Feeder’s director Wayne Gurman, and enjoyed a late-night screening of the Korean horror film The Host.  Plus, I had some really good cheese fries.

I didn’t make it out on Sunday, so I don’t know yet what film was selected as the festival’s best.  (But I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.)  Now, on to writing all those reviews….